Cheap Seat Chronicles

This Guy’s All Wet: The Los Angeles Angels New Good Luck Charm

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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The Los Angeles Angels had a huge night on Thursday.

First and foremost the Halos got to watch John Lackey—in potentially his last game with the club—pitch at his best and hold the Yankees in check for 6 2/3 innings.

Secondly, the club managed to pull off a huge comeback against the vaunted bullpen of the New York Yankees and force a game six in New York on Saturday night.

Lastly—and most importantly—the Angels finally found a new good luck charm.

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, the days of the Rally Monkey and Thunder Sticks has come and gone.

It is the dawning of a new era.

Now is the time of the “yet-to-be-nicknamed dude who went swimming in the outfield waterfall last night.”

Personally I think that name is a bit long, but I’m sure ESPN or Fox will come up with something by sundown tonight.

For those who missed it, 29-year-old Angels fan, Jose Cervera made his debut in the bottom of the sixth by stumbling across the outfield rocks and diving into the water multiple times.

After each dive Cervera threw his hands in the air like a proud Olympic gymnast.

His debut performance was met with a mixed reaction from the crowd, befuddled looks from the players and a rarity from Major League Baseball, as he was actually given some camera time as opposed to the usual cutaway shots or impromptu commercial breaks.

It seemed initially as though Cervera was bad luck when the Angels lost a commanding 4-0 lead soon after his performance.

By the bottom of the seventh, however, Cervera proved that he is a good luck charm of a more dramatic fashion as the Halos rallied to win 7-6.

Cervera—who shockingly was not intoxicated—was detained in Anaheim’s jail Thursday night.

He has since been released, and faces charges of trespassing, a misdemeanor.

Perhaps the Halos should look into getting this guy a uniform and traveling kiddie-pool to take this show on the road!

Posted in American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Los Angeles Angels, MLB, Playoffs | Leave a comment

Newbies, You’re Outta Here: MLB to Use Only Veteran Umps in World Series

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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It was unofficially announced last night that Major League Baseball will only be using umpires with previous World Series experience for the Fall Classic this season.

The move comes as a result of numerous botched calls throughout the first two rounds of the postseason.

With those errant calls has come an increased push for Major League Baseball to expand its use of instant replay. Currently MLB only uses instant replay to determine boundary calls in the case of home runs.

Commissioner Bud Selig has been hesitant to expand the use of instant replay, so much so that he’s gone on record stating that he believes the system is working well.

“This goes on every time there’s a controversial call,” Selig said. “But frankly, I’m quite satisfied with the way things are.”

As it stands “the way things are” includes a smattering of blown calls in nearly every series this postseason.

Notable mistakes include: Phil Cuzzi’s foul call on a drive by Joe Mauer that was fair by a foot, Jerry Meals’ error on a ball that bounced off Chase Utley’s leg, Dale Scott’s miss on a pickoff and Tim McClelland’s call on a tag play, just about anything done by C.B. Bucknor and a host of other blunders.

Bucknor was actually in line to work in his first World Series this year.

However, the combination of blown calls in the Angels/Red Sox series and the fact that he is consistently ranked—by the players—as one of the worst umpires in the majors probably did nothing to help his cause.

“I don’t really have any desire to increase the amount of replay — period,” Selig said.

What Selig does have is a desire to decrease the amount of bad PR that MLB and its umpiring crews are receiving this postseason.

As a result, for just the second time in a quarter century, baseball will break tradition and the six-man crew will consist entirely of umpires who have previously worked in the World Series.

The crew currently figures to be comprised of longtime crew chiefs Joe West, Dana DeMuth and Gerry Davis, along with Brian Gorman, Jeff Nelson and Mike Everitt.

The rumored crew will undoubtedly be experienced.

West, DeMuth and Davis each have worked three World Series and have been major league umpires for more than 25 years.

Gorman, Nelson and Everitt all have called one World Series, and have been on the big league staff for at least 11 years.

The World Series crew has generally included at least one umpire working the event for the first time. In each of the previous two Series, there were three new umpires on the crew.

If Major League Baseball wants to use this as a bandage for the problem, that’s fine.

This can’t, however, be a permanent solution as the pool of available umpires for the World Series figures to continue shrinking each year as experienced umps retire.

The ideal situation would be for MLB to ramp up its efforts to improve umpiring across the board this offseason.

If that doesn’t happen—and the atrocious umpiring continues—Selig may have to move on from “the way things are” and finally listen to the calls for expanded replay.

Unfortunately for some teams on the wrong end of botched calls in this year’s playoffs, no matter what happens it will be too little, too late.

Posted in Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, MLB, Playoffs, Umpires, World Series | Leave a comment

TBS Hates the Minnesota Twins

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

TBSpostseason001 As any avid reader of my blog can tell you, I’m a pretty big baseball fan.

To that end, I’m a huge Minnesota Twins fan.

As such, the past couple of weeks have been very exciting. The Twins scratched and fought and clawed their way back from the brink to win the American League Central Division in a thrilling one-game playoff against the Detroit Tigers.

For their efforts the Twins earned a date with the New York Yankees in the first-round of the playoffs.

For anyone who doesn’t follow baseball very closely, the Yankees are $200+ million behemoth that currently employs three of baseball’s top four highest paid players.

The Twins are a small-market team that has survived (and thrived) over the years largely on solid scouting, shrewd player development and spend-thrift tactics.

To get a good grasp on what a David vs Goliath story this really was, one could look simply at the overall payroll of the Twins (roughly $65 million) versus the aforementioned salaries of just the three highest paid Yankees (roughly $75 million).

Anyway, bitching about salaries notwithstanding, the real problem was how badly TBS—the station covering the playoffs—treated the Twins throughout the series.

From day one the Twins were treated like an afterthought. The announcers never gave them any credit or even a fighting chance.

Often times the announcing was so abysmal I had to mute the TV for fear that I’d throw a book or a baseball or myself through it in a desperate attempt to quiet the mindless ass-rambling of Chip Caray.

For their part the Twins played some very tight ballgames, but just couldn’t hang with the Yankees and eventually were swept out of the Division Series three games to none.

All of that I can handle.

I was upset by the Twins’ inability to put games away.

I was upset by the announcers’ inability to not suck at life.

I was upset by the umpires’ inability to see with anything better than 80/80 vision.

What upset me most, however, was that during the decisive game three matchup between the Twins and Yankees, TBS decided to pan the crowd and zoom in on some of Minnesota’s “finest specimens.”

They did the same thing in New York, mind you, zooming in on celebrities like Jay-Z and Kate Hudson or well-dressed business men and hotties in Derek Jeter jerseys.

In Minnesota, we got this:

thanksTBS

That’s right folks, of the 54,735 people in the stands that day, the powers that be at TBS decided to flash these two on the screen for all the world to see.

Sure, sure we got the occasional snapshot of some worrisome looking Nordic gals in their pink Joe Mauer jerseys or some wholesome, sideburn-bearing gentleman in crooked TC caps. But it was these two fine specimens that the TBS crew decided to focus on.

Of all the audience shots, these two received the most prolonged screen time; so much so that at my Twins party (which, living in Boston was more of an anti-Yankees party than anything else) the entire populous in attendance broke into uproarious laughter.

Not cool, TBS. Not cool at all.

Posted in American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Minnesota Twins, MLB, New York Yankees, Playoffs | 1 Comment

As Twins’ Season Ends, GM Smith’s is Just Beginning

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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The Minnesota Twins magical run is over.

After falling to the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, the players can now head home for the winter and the front-office—lead by General Manager Bill Smith—can begin the work of ensuring the Twins are a contender again in 2010.

The pieces are already in place for a very good ballclub next season.

Perennial All-Stars Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan should all be healthy and ready to contribute.

The patchwork rotation the club marched onto the field in the second half should also be reloaded barring no setbacks for injured starters Kevin Slowey and Glen Perkins.

Denard Span, Jose Morales, Matt Guerrier, Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer all took major steps forward this season and figure to get even better in 2010.

Undoubtedly, the biggest area of need this offseason is the same as it has been for much of the decade, the infield.

Orlando Cabrera and Joe Crede are both free-agents, neither of whom should be brought back on anything more than a one-year, incentive-laden deal.

Nick Punto, Brendan Harris, Matt Tolbert and Alexi Casilla haven’t done anything to prove they belong in the everyday lineup.

Super prospect Danny Valencia hit .285/.337/.466 with stops in AA and AAA last season, but may not be quite ready to handle the everyday third base job out of Spring Training.

Smith will no doubt make inquiries about potential trade targets such as Milwaukee’s JJ Hardy, Florida’s Dan Uggla and San Diego’s Kevin Kouzmanoff, but should also be scouring the free-agent market for some potential buy-low bargains.

While other teams are clamoring to sign pricier infield options like Mark DeRosa, Orlando Cabrera and Chone Figgins, the Twins would be wise to take a chance on one or more of these five players who figure to be well within the Twins’ financial means.

Read the rest of the article at BLEACHERREPORT.

Posted in AL Central, American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Free Agency, Minnesota Twins, MLB | Leave a comment

Justin Morneau to Miss the Rest of 2009

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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The Minnesota Twins fading playoff hopes took another hit Tuesday when it was announced that All-Star first baseman Justin Morneau will miss the remainder of the season.

Morneau has been battling back pain for weeks, but a CT scan and an MRI on Monday revealed that he has a stress fracture in his lower back.

The injury doesn’t figure to require surgery. Rather doctors have told Morneau to rest the back for the next three months.

Morneau hurt himself on a headfirst slide into first base on Friday and hasn’t played since.

Prior to last week’s injury the slugging first baseman had already been playing with pain off and on for quite some time. As a result, his performance has suffered mightily; Morneau was hitting just .077 in September to drop his season average to .274.

“You can play through the pain if you feel like you’re helping the team or doing something to help your teammates out and win ballgames,” Morneau said. “When you go out there and you don’t feel like you’re helping anyone, that’s when you kind of take a step back and go, ‘All right, maybe I’m doing more harm than good.’ ”

Despite his struggles of late, Morneau finishes the 2009 campaign with 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in.

Michael Cuddyer figures to become the primary first baseman in Morneau’s absence.

Despite the injury, Morneau remains upbeat about the Twins chances the rest of the way.

“Hopefully I’ll watch the boys go on a run here and play cheerleader and that’s about it,” Morneau said.

Posted in AL Central, American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins, MLB | Leave a comment

Baker’s Dozen: Twins Ace Guns for 13th Win

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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Scott Baker is the Twins’ ace.

Period.

Baker is going for his thirteenth victory of the season today in Cleveland and hasn’t lost a game in his last ten starts. The Twins are 8-2 over that stretch and Baker has been easily the most dominant member of the Twins recently-impressive rotation.

Given his performances of late, it’s hard to imagine that a few months back the right-hander had fans and sports-writers alike calling for his head and demanding that he be pulled from the rotation.

Baker struggled early in the 2009 campaign after signing a four year, $15.25 million extension during Spring Training.

He missed time early on after being placed on the disabled list with a stiff shoulder and struggled mightily upon returning to the Twins’ rotation.

After sputtering to a 2-6 start with a sky-high 6.32 ERA through May, Baker finally turned it all around and become the pitcher the Twins envisioned when they offered him the new contract.

Since losing to Tampa Bay to close out the month of May, Baker has gone 10-1 with a 3.51 ERA and has been especially dominant since the All-Star Break posting a 5-0 record with a miniscule 2.76 ERA.

Although no one is going to confuse Baker with departed ace Johan Santana, he is still giving the team exactly what it needs most—a chance to win every time out.

Baker has tossed a quality start in six of his last ten outings, keeping the Twins in the game and allowing the team’s dynamic offense to take care of business on the other side of the ball.

“I’d hate to see where we’d be without Baker,” pitching coach Rick Anderson said. “People like to talk about his age. But I told him the other day, ‘You’re getting to be the veteran of the staff, and you’re pitching like it.'”

Baker has been one of the few constants in a Twins’ rotation that has been a patchwork of minor leaguers, beleaguered veterans and converted relievers in recent months.

After losing starters Glen Perkins, Kevin Slowey and Francisco Liriano to injuries and missing out on deals to land right-handers Brad Penny and Rich Harden, Baker stepped up and took over as both the staff ace and the veteran presence the team sorely needed.

Baker’s willingness to adapt and change has paid huge dividends both for himself and for the entire ballclub.

This change has proven the front office knew what they were doing when the inked the young veteran to his extension in March and has proven to the rest of the club that they’ve finally gotten the one thing they’ve been looking for since the Santana trade.

“He’s been the ace of the staff,” Anderson said. “Our players know when he’s in, he’s going to give them a chance to win.”

Scott Baker is the Twins’ ace.

Period.

Posted in AL Central, American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Minnesota Twins, Scott Baker | 1 Comment

Off the Mark: Grudzielanek’s Comeback with Minnesota is Over

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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Veteran second baseman Mark Grudzielanek’s attempt to revive his career with the Minnesota Twins has come to an end.

Minor league director Jim Rantz announced that the Twins had released Grudzielanek after Sunday’s game for Class AA New Britain.

Through eight games with New Britain, Grudzielanek, 39, was hitting a meager .267 (8-for-30) and had committed two errors at the keystone corner.

Grudzielanek signed July 19 in hopes of returning to Major League Baseball after going unsigned last offseason.

He last played in the majors on August 1, 2008, for the Royals before an ankle injury ended his season.

The Twins originally signed Grudzielanek with hopes that he could provide depth and a veteran presence at a position where the team has struggled mightily this season.

Minnesota second basemen have combined to “hit” .186 this season, ranking last in the majors and serving as a veritable black-hole in the club’s lineup.

The Trade Deadline addition of Gold Glove shortstop Orlando Cabrera provided the club with more depth up the middle and ultimately spelled the end of the Mark Grudzielanek experiment with the Twins.

Grudzielanek is a former All-Star and Gold Glover winner and it is a shame that he couldn’t stick with the Twins.

His veteran presence and “gamer” attitude alone would have made him the ideal mentor for young second baseman Alexi Casilla and a great overall presence in the dugout during a pennant race.

Unfortunately, Minnesota’s refusal to end the abysmal “Nick Punto as an everyday player” experiment has ruined any chance of Grudzielanek bringing the aforementioned intangibles and his .290 career average to the Metrodome for a run at the AL Central title.

The future doesn’t look too bright for Grudzielanek as more teams continue to push youth rather than signing veterans.

As such, after spending more than a year away from the game; this release may be the end of Grudzielanek’s career.

Posted in AL Central, American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Free Agency, Minnesota Twins, MLB | Leave a comment

Twin Closers: Minnesota’s Missing Link

Posted on August 7, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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The Minnesota Twins have made two moves to prepare for a postseason push, but are still missing one key piece.

Last week, the club acquired Gold Glove shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Oakland Athletics to shore up the middle infield and add another productive bat to the lineup.

Today the team received right-handed starter Carl Pavano from the Cleveland Indians in an attempt to bolster a depleted rotation.

The team’s next move should be to add another reliever to the bullpen.

The bullpen has struggled mightily this season and is in dire need of one more dominant arm to help close out games.

Billy Wagner could be that arm.

Read the rest of the article at BleacherReport.

Posted in AL Central, Baseball, Billy Wagner, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Minnesota Twins, MLB, Trade Rumors | Leave a comment

Twins Trade for Carl Pavano to Bolster Rotation

Posted on August 7, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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The Minnesota Twins finally made a move to shore up their depleted pitching corps.

The Twins acquired right-hander Carl Pavano from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for a player to be named later.

Pavano, 33, went 9-8 with a 5.37 ERA in 21 starts for Cleveland this season.

He has given up 150 hits and 23 walks with 88 strikeouts in 125-plus innings.

The addition of Pavano should provide much-needed aid to a beleaguered rotation that has struggled with inconsistency and injuries.

Pavano also figures to offer relief to a Twins bullpen that has been overworked this season as a result of short outings from the club’s starters.

He is a solid innings-eater, who has pitched six or more innings in 14 of his 21 starts for the Indians this season.

Pavano, an All-Star in 2004 with Florida, has largely been derided for the four injury-plagued seasons he spent with the New York Yankees after signing a contract worth $39.95 million.

He signed with the Indians for $1.5 million last winter. The Twins will pay the $500k remaining on his contract.

The team will also be responsible for paying any bonuses for incentives. If Pavano makes 10 more starts and averages 6.0 IP per outing, he’ll make another $1.75 in bonuses.

Pavano is expected to join the Twins tonight in Detroit for the start of a three-game series against the AL Central-leading Tigers, who currently hold a 4 1/2-game lead over the third-place Twins.

On the season, Pavano is 5-1 against the Tigers and Chicago White Sox, the two teams the Twins are currently chasing in the division.

He is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA against Detroit, and may be available to pitch this weekend. Pavano last pitched on Sunday against Detroit, allowing just one run over eight innings.

To make room for Pavano, knuckleballing reliever R.A. Dickey was optioned to Triple-A and the recovering Boof Bonser was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

Posted in AL Central, American League, Baseball, Carl Pavano, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, MLB, Trade Deadline | 2 Comments

Waiver Wire Offers Options to Bolster Twins Rotation

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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The Minnesota Twins are a mess right now.

After sweeping the Chicago White Sox to claw their way back into the AL Central race and acquiring Gold Glove shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Oakland Athletics, the Twins have gone on to lose five of their next six games.

As such, the Twins currently sit four and a half games behind the Detroit Tigers in the division and two games under .500 on the season.

The Twins biggest issue this season has been—and continues to be—pitching.

Both Chicago and Detroit made major moves to bolster their rotations at the Deadline.

The Tigers brought in veteran southpaw Jarrod Washburn from the Seattle Mariners to strengthen an already imposing rotation that includes Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson.

The White Sox made arguably the biggest splash at the deadline by acquiring former San Diego Padres’ ace Jake Peavy for a collection of highly-talented young pitchers.

As a result of these moves, the Twins now find themselves playing catch-up in the pitching department.

The Twins starters have struggled mightily this season and things have only gotten worse as the season has worn on.

Only Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn have shown consistency of late. Beyond Baker and Blackburn, the options aren’t overly inspiring.

Kevin Slowey is out for the season. Glen Perkins and Francisco Liriano have both been ineffective of late and are in danger of losing their rotation spots.

Rookie Anthony Swarzak is suffering through Jekyll and Hyde performances that are expected of rookies, but due to the lack of depth he is being forced to do so as part of the Major League rotation, in the midst of a pennant race.

With that in mind, here are five starters that figure to go unclaimed on waivers and thus have the potential to be traded to the Twins for a final late-season salvo at the AL Central crown.

Read the rest of the article at BleacherReport.

Posted in AL Central, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Minnesota Twins, MLB, Trade Deadline, Trade Rumors | 1 Comment

Minnesota Twins: Free-Agents Arms Still Available

Posted on August 5, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

twins territory The Minnesota Twins currently sit just 2 ½ games back of the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central.

The division figures to—once again—play host to one of the best pennant races in all of baseball with the aforementioned Twins and Tigers vying with the Chicago White Sox for the right to represent the Central in the postseason.

Each of the three teams, however, has their weaknesses as we enter the season’s final two months.

All three attempted to shore up some of those issues at the MLB Trade Deadline last Friday.

The Twins imported Gold Glove shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Oakland Athletics to improve the middle infield on both sides of the ball.

The Tigers brought in veteran southpaw Jarrod Washburn from the Seattle Mariners to bolster an already-imposing rotation that includes Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson.

The White Sox made arguably the biggest splash at the deadline by acquiring former San Diego Padres’ ace Jake Peavy for a collection of highly-talented young pitchers.

With both Chicago and Detroit adding arms at the Deadline, the Twins find themselves playing catch-up in the pitching department.

The Twins—as evidenced by the horrid series against the Los Angeles Angels—are in dire need of at least one more arm in the bullpen and potentially another starter to take some of the pressure off of the Twins young rotation.

With that in mind, here is a look at six free-agent arms—three starters and three relievers—that could offer the Twins the boost they need to capture the flag in the Central.

Read the rest of the article at BleacherReport.

Posted in AL Central, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Free Agency, Minnesota Twins | 1 Comment

Minnesota Twins Acquire Shortstop Orlando Cabrera

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

Athletics Angels Baseball The Minnesota Twins’ search for an experienced middle infielder came to an end Friday.

Just hours before the MLB Trade Deadline, the Twins bolstered their lineup for a playoff push by acquiring 34-year-old shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Oakland Athletics.

The Twins reportedly traded 21-year-old shortstop prospect Tyler Ladendorf to Oakland in the deal.

This is the first Trade Deadline acquisition by the Twins since 2003, when the club traded for Shannon Stewart, a move that propelled the Twins into the playoffs.

On the season Cabrera is hitting .280/.318/.365, but he has been hot in the month of July hitting an astounding .373/.400/.500.

Adding Cabrera gives Minnesota an aging, yet reliable glove at short and an upgrade at the plate over Nick Punto and Alexi Casilla.

Additionally, he provides a veteran presence with plenty of playoff experience, something very few members of the Twins current roster possess.

Cabrera figures to hit in the two-hole and take over at shortstop with Brendan Harris moving to second base.

Cabrera has roughly $1.75 million remaining on his contract. The Athletics have reportedly sent cash in the deal to offset part of his salary.

One downfall of this deal is that despite the fact that Cabrera currently profiles as a Type A free agent, the Twins will be unable to offer him arbitration after the season in hopes of gaining draft picks if Cabrera signs elsewhere for the 2010 season.

After struggling to find a taker last offseason, Cabrera and his agent negotiated a clause into his contract with the Athletics disallowing whichever club he finished the season with to offer him arbitration.

Ladendorf, a second-round pick of the Twins in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, gives the A’s a productive, young, cheap shortstop who could be major league ready in two or three years. This season in Class-A he’s hitting .322 with four homers, 21 RBI and three stolen bases.

Posted in AL Central, American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Minnesota Twins, MLB, Oakland Athletics, Orlando Cabrera, Trade Deadline | 4 Comments

Trio of Minnesota Twins All-Stars Urge Front Office to Pull the Trigger

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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As the clock continues ticking toward the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline, it is becoming apparent that fans of the Minnesota Twins aren’t alone in their desire to see the front office make a move.

Last weekend, in the midst of the club’s dreadful west coast road trip, a trio of Twins All-Stars expressed their desire for the club to acquire more talent for the stretch run.

Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan all said they’d really like to see the team make a move—any move—to help give the club a shot in the arm as they march toward the postseason.

Much of the players’ desire to make a deal is spurred by the memory of last season, when the Twins missed the playoffs by one game. A situation that Nathan believes could have been avoided if the Twins had been proactive at the deadline.

Read the rest of the article at BleacherReport.

Posted in AL Central, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Joe Mauer, Joe Nathan, Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins, MLB, Trade Deadline | 1 Comment

Minnesota Twins’ Starter Kevin Slowey Lost for Season

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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The Minnesota Twins—already suffering through a second-half swoon—saw their postseason pursuits take another hit on Monday.

Prior to Monday’s game against the division-rival Chicago White Sox it was announced that right-handed starter Kevin Slowey will miss the rest of the season.

Slowey will undergo surgery to fix a bone chip in his right wrist. The operation will require two to four months of rehab and recovery.

Slowey initially aggravated the injury when he was hit by a line drive during a start last September.

He pitched through the pain until July 3, when he left a game after three innings. The next day he went on the disabled list and hasn’t pitched since.

Read the rest of the article at BleacherReport.

Posted in Cheap Seat Chronicles | Leave a comment

Twins Face a ‘Make or Break’ Series Against White Sox

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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The Minnesota Twins have struggled mightily following the All-Star break.

After taking the first two games of the second-half from the Texas Rangers, the Twins have won just two of seven and have fallen a game under .500 on the season.

The Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels both took turns humiliating the Twins last week, leading to the four-game losing streak that has pushed the squad to the fringe of playoff contention in the American League Central.

During the four-game skid, the Twins were outscored 39-14.

Read the rest of the article at BleacherReport.